Willam Ewing from the Stirling Castle area in the lowlands of Scotland
was my 7th great-grandfather. As far as can be determined, his only marriage
was to Eliza Milford. The lowlands held many people of our surname, in
all the variant spellings such as MacEwen, Ewan, Ewin, Yeowen, and the
predominant Ewing, and the choice among given names seem to have been narrow.
Although it is tempting to go back in time farther than 1600 and William,
there are simply too many of Clan Ewing named Robert, William, Charles,
James, and Alexander to be certain of any accuracy. So for the present,
I start my Ewing saga with this William Ewing.

William Ewing and his wife Eliza Milford were among the multitude
of Protestant Scots who emigrated to Ireland to escape religious persecution.
William settled his wife and two sons in Ulster, Ireland. Although Robert
and William are the only children of the marriage so far found recorded,
there were likely more sons and daughters who undertook this trip with
their parents. It is doubtful that they were long able to practice their
religious beliefs in peace even there, since James II in 1685 restored
Catholicism to the Realm. However, my direct ancestor, Robert
Ewing, settled finally near Londonderry, Ireland, where he lived out
the rest of his life. One of Robert's sons, Alexander,
my 5th great-grandfather, was to set out in 1727 for America, along with
many of his Ewing cousins, to seek the religious freedom they craved and
the opportunities to be found in a new and challenging country.

(There is much confusion and debate concerning William Ewing and Eliza Milford -- It may well be that claiming them as progenitors for this particular Ewing line is inaccurate; however I will present the story as recounted by Vernon T. Ewing and many previous researchers until I am convinced that it is false. No matter the parentage, Robert Ewing, mentioned here, is my 6th great-grandfather and father of Alexander Ewing who established this line of Ewings in America.)